Delhi Businessman’s Cryptocurrencies Stolen In Online Fraud; Transferred To Palestine’s Hamas: Police

The Delhi Police's Cyber Cell on Monday said a Delhi-based businessman's cryptocurrencies were allegedly stolen and transferred to the wallets of Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian organisation Hamas.

The matter came to light in 2019 when the businessman reported at Paschim Vihar police station that some unknown persons had fraudulently transferred cryptocurrencies from his wallet, they said.

The cryptocurrencies were worth about Rs 30 lakh and its current value is Rs 4 crore, police said.

On the orders of a court, the investigation into the case was later transferred to the Cyber Crime Unit of Delhi Police's Special Cell.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell) KPS Malhotra said, "During the course of investigation, the cryptocurrency trail led to startling facts, that the cryptocurrencies have ended up in the wallets maintained by Al-Qassam Brigates, which is the military wing of Palestinian organisation Hamas and to the wallets which have already been seized by Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing. The seized wallet belongs to Mohammad Naseer Ibrahim Abdulla."

One wallet to which a major share of the cryptocurrencies have been transferred is being operated from Giza, Egypt and it belongs to Ahmed Marzooq, while another wallet belongs to Ahmed Q H Safi, a resident of Ramallah, Palestinian, the officer said.

The investigation conducted so far has revealed that the bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies were fraudulently transferred from the wallet of the businessman, he added.

The police said they have recovered all details of these accounts and while some of them were used for financing terror operations others were used for accessing child pornography.